Why it’s Okay If You’re Baby Eats Messily

Learning to eat is a huge milestone in baby development. But how long will it be before you don’t find your baby’s messy eating cute but begin to get annoyed? Is there anything you can do to train your child or is it something he will grow out of?

Your little one is growing steadily and has crossed the one year mark. By now, your baby has now better control with grasping things and holding on. Hand and leg movements are vigorous and it only increases when your little one is excited and happy. Around this time you will notice your baby getting messy at mealtimes. At the beginning, you may find it cute and amusing to watch your baby try to stuff food in his mouth and throw it all over the place. What will happen over a period of time is; you will start getting irritated at the mess both on and around your child.

We know it’s a paradoxical feeling of being happy that your baby is becoming independent and conversely causing so much mess. So, it is okay or not okay? Let’s find out!

Why Does The Mess Happen?

1. Co-ordination

Your cute little baby is still learning muscle co-ordination to have a better control over what he holds. A spoon full of food is bound to go awry as your baby will not be able to co-ordinate the mouth and hand so easily right in the beginning.

2. Developmental Stages

Developmental milestones will teach your baby to learn eat solids from liquid and then eat the same using a spoon. In this journey, expect a few spills and do not panic or get frustrated or even worse yell at your baby. You do not want your child to be averse to food-time just to make you happy. ||

3. Experimentation

Your bundle of joy will find enjoyment if every little thing. Food is a great attraction and will be accompanied by a few excited spills. The food will be thrown and dropped, and your curious little one will make sure to repeat the same for a few times till he learns better.

Here’s What You Must Do

Will you be panicking at the mess and end up scolding your little one? Will you instead beg to the almighty to instill some discipline into your baby? Well, you need not do either of them! Find out how you can save yourself some stress.

1. Reduce Mess

Try and help your little one in this wonderful journey by making the job easier. Cut the foods into smaller pieces that will reduce the spillage. You can also help your little one in guiding his hand or head towards the food to avoid spillage.

2. Look Deeper

Behind your baby’s food mess could lie a great developmental milestone. It is about the sensory development. Think of it this way: your baby is learning about the texture and the feel of the food. Show your baby what’s right and wrong and eventually his eating etiquette will develop.

3. Self-Dependence

The messy habits will ultimately lead to structured muscle movements. Your baby will learn the art of self-dependence that will ease a lot of the burden for you.

4. Control Yourself

This is directed solely towards you! Avoid snatching away the spoon or wiping with towel frequently. This will prevent your little one to learn something new. Make him feel like you are proud of his attempts to eat by himself no matter how messy he is. This will inculcate self-confidence too.

So, it is completely okay if your baby is eating messily. Let your baby develop and learn with the flow. Over-caring may sometimes yield a negative result in your baby’s self-esteem and confidence.

Our Editorial Policy

Parenting is a huge responsibility, for you as a caregiver, but also for us as a parenting content platform. We understand that and take our responsibility of creating credible content seriously. FirstCry Parenting articles are written and published only after extensive research using factually sound references to deliver quality content that is accurate, validated by experts, and completely reliable. To understand how we go about creating content that is credible, read our editorial policy here.